U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown released a whitepaper yesterday outlining his ideas on improving higher education, ranging from requiring colleges to keep tuition increases at pace with or lower than the rate of inflation to encouraging more women to enter science, math and engineering fields.

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“Following the Senate’s failure to agree on legislation that would assist our young people in college and after they graduate, I’m bringing forward a set of proposals that I think can earn the support of people on both sides of the political aisle,” Brown wrote at the top of his memo.

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In Brown’s memo, he said student loans should be offered at capped market rates.

“In addition, borrowers should have the ability to consolidate and refinance their student loans at market rates to take advantage of today’s low interest rates,” the memo says.

Here are other proposals in Brown’s memo:

∎ Requiring colleges and universities to keep tuition and fee increases at or below the rate of inflation in order to participate in federal student aid programs.

∎ Offering grants through the National Science Foundation to schools that develop programs focused on getting women into the science, technology, engineering and math fields, known as STEM.

∎ Have the government give college applicants information about their financial aid eligibility rather than waiting for schools to determine aid packages after a student is accepted.